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"Our objective is to remove barriers to charitable giving and inspire our donors to give more"

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Schwab Charitable, one of the nation’s largest donor-advised fund
providers, announced two significant enhancements that make it easier
for donors to contribute tax-efficient complex assets and support
international causes. These charitable activities have traditionally
been time-consuming and expensive for donors and charities, requiring
them to navigate multiple legal and tax advisors and regulations. To
make these processes easier, more efficient and lower cost, Schwab
Charitable offers donors personalized guidance from professionals
experienced in complex gift acceptance and international granting.

“Our objective is to remove barriers to charitable giving and inspire
our donors to give more,” said Kim Laughton, president of Schwab
Charitable. “With these enhancements, we are making both contributing
complex assets and granting internationally as convenient and
straightforward as possible. We hope this will enable our donors to be
even more generous and maximize the impact of their generosity.”

Unlocking Complex Assets for Charitable Good

Schwab Charitable makes it easier for donors to give tax-efficient
appreciated assets to their favorite charities. When donors contribute
appreciated assets to a public charity (including to a donor-advised
fund account), they potentially eliminate capital gains tax on the sale
of those assets, allowing them to increase their giving by as much as
20%.1 More than two thirds (68%) of contributions to Schwab
Charitable accounts in fiscal year 20152 were appreciated
assets, including publicly traded stock and more complex assets, such asrestricted stock, privately held shares (C-Corp, S-Corp, and
limited partnership interests), initial public offerings, real estate,
private equity and hedge fund interests.

Schwab Charitable has eliminated basic consulting and administrative
fees for the most common types of complex assets donated to charity.3
An experienced complex gift acceptance team coordinates the sale of the
assets, deposits the cash proceeds into the donors’ account, and
provides contribution receipts for tax filing purposes in a consolidated
report. Accounts with ongoing complex needs may also receive dedicated
support to assist with their contributions, investing, and granting.

Comprehensive information about the benefits of donating various forms
of appreciated assets to a Schwab Charitable donor-advised fund account
is available online.

International Giving

Once donors have contributed to their donor-advised fund accounts,
Schwab Charitable ensures their generosity is not limited by geographic
borders. Account holders have three options for supporting international
causes through Schwab Charitable’s Global Giving Program.

Donors may recommend grants to U.S. charities doing international work,
including widely supported charities such as Doctors Without Borders,
Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity. They may also choose to support
foreign charities directly.

The Global Giving Program provides hands-on support with the due
diligence review of proposed foreign grant recipients and with granting
either directly or through designated intermediary providers at
specially negotiated rates. For grants made directly to foreign
charities, Schwab Charitable works with charities and donors to meet
expenditure reporting responsibilities and/or equivalency determination
requirements.

More information about Schwab Charitable’s Global Giving Program is
available online.

About Schwab Charitable

Schwab Charitable is a donor-advised fund established as a service for
individual investors to help increase their charitable giving. Since
inception, Schwab Charitable has facilitated approximately $5.5 billion
in grants to more than 96,000 charities on behalf of its donors. Schwab
Charitable serves a wide range of investors and has been a pioneer in
enabling registered investment advisors to manage the investments of
donor-advised accounts 4. Schwab Charitable also offers a
private foundation conversion service for private foundations
considering a donor-advised fund as a complementary or alternative
charitable vehicle. For more information, visit schwabcharitable.org.

1 Appreciated asset must have been held for a year or more.
Assumes that all realized gains are subject to the 20% federal long-term
capital gains tax rate.

2 Schwab Charitable’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through
June 30.

3 Additional fees may apply for escrow for unrelated business
income tax and for direct expenses, such as legal fees, inspections,
environmental assessments, and insurance. Donor may need to obtain a
qualified appraisal of donated assets in accordance with IRS
requirements. Additional fees and expenses may apply.

4 Professionally-managed accounts are available only through
independent investment advisors working with Schwab Advisor ServicesTM,
a business segment of The Charles Schwab Corporation serving independent
investment advisors and including the custody, trading and support
services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Although donors may recommend an
advisor, Schwab Charitable Fund must approve the recommendation.
Advisors must meet certain eligibility requirements and adhere to Fund
fee and investment guidelines. You may request a copy of the investment
guidelines by calling (800) 746-6216.

A donor's ability to claim itemized deductions may be subject to further
limitations depending upon the donor's specific tax situation and donors
should consult their tax advisors. Schwab Charitable does not provide
specific individualized legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified
legal or tax advisor where such advice is necessary or appropriate.

Contributions of certain real estate, private equity or other illiquid
assets may be accepted via a charitable intermediary, with proceeds of
the donation transferred to the donor-advised account upon liquidation.
This intermediary considers donations on a case-by-case basis, and
assets typically must be valued at $250,000 or more.

Schwab Charitable is the name used for the combined programs and
services of Schwab Charitable Fund, an independent nonprofit
organization, which has entered into service agreements with certain
affiliates of The Charles Schwab Corporation.